


handle me with care

by lostin_space



Series: It Only Takes A Taste [5]
Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Friends With Benefits, M/M, omg he cares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-28
Updated: 2019-11-28
Packaged: 2021-02-18 07:29:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21590761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lostin_space/pseuds/lostin_space
Summary: Alex: you alive?Alex: your shift ends at 11 and you’re still not home. I double checked the schedule.A slow, steady smile found Michael’s face and he chewed on his bottom lip. This was new.
Relationships: Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Series: It Only Takes A Taste [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1529921
Comments: 19
Kudos: 132





	handle me with care

**Author's Note:**

> :)

Michael’s phone went off just as he managed to stack six boxes in one hand and a case of Dr. Pepper in the other and a bag of gummy worms held on by his pinky. He frowned and chose to wait until he got to self-checkout before he bothered to mess up his intricate stack. Then it went off again.

“What the fuck?” he mumbled under his breath. It was 11:30 at night, well past anyone bothering him hours. He quickly fumbled his stack onto the little ledge at one of the self-checkout stands and fished out his phone.

_Alex: you alive?_

_Alex: your shift ends at 11 and you’re still not home. I double checked the schedule._

A slow, steady smile found Michael’s face and he chewed on his bottom lip. This was new.

_Michael: are you in my room?_

_Alex: it was supposed to be a surprise. Surprise. Good to hear you’re alive._

_Michael: I stopped at the store_

_Alex: oooh get me gummy worms_

Michael smiled and shoving the phone in his pocket as he scanned the bag of gummy worms he was already carrying. He finished quickly, paying the $30 easily, and then hauled ass to his truck so he could get home.

Isobel and Max went home to their parents’ for the weekend, leaving Michael to have the place to himself. Well, and apparently Alex who broke in. Which was totally fine with him.

“You know, Alex,” Michael started as he walked in to see Alex making himself at home on the couch. He had those baggy sweats and that loose tank top on, looking painfully rugged and handsome. “It’s a very relationship type of thing to have someone’s schedule memorized.”

“I don’t, Liz has it on the fridge,” he retorted, climbing up and searching the two bags for the gummy worms he’d asked for. “Also, you’re not my fucking boyfriend, you’re just quieter than Liz and Maria, so I’m taking your couch while The Olsen Twins are gone.”

“Oh yeah? The couch?” Michael asked. Alex smirked and ripped open the bag, his hips swaying just a little as he walked back to the couch. Michael put everything up before following.

He grabbed Alex’s feet, placing them in his lap and mindlessly rubbing them to warm them up. His feet were unnaturally freezing at all times, but he still insisted on foregoing constant socks.

“So, uh,” Michael started, “You were worried about me?”

Alex groaned, rolling his head back in a dramatic fashion. Michael smiled.

“You know, it’s normal friend territory to be worried about someone when they don’t get home on time. Do you know how often Maria and Liz will freak if I’m not home on time? They almost called the police once because I disappeared for a couple hours,” he pointed out. Michael shrugged, still smiling as he squeezed Alex’s foot.

“Okay, well no one’s ever noticed when I wasn’t home on time,” Michael admitted softly. Alex scooted closer, grabbing his jaw and making him make eye contact.

“Look, I don’t have a crush on you like you seem to think I do,” Alex said, so serious that it felt like a punch in the stomach, “But I do care about you a lot. You’re my best friend and I’m going to notice if you’re late or if you’re upset or even if someone else is using your phone because I know how you text. I know you and I care about you, Michael Guerin, you’re just gonna have to deal with it.”

Mixed feelings washed through Michael’s system as Alex let go of him and popped another gummy worm into his mouth. He’d been so sincere in saying he cared about him, yet his insistence that he didn’t have a crush felt wrong. He knew they joked all the time about just how meaningless it was and how they didn’t love each other, but Michael thought it was just that–a joke. The line between friend and _I need you with me always_ was blurring and he felt ill.

“Are you really sleeping on the couch tonight?” Michael asked. Alex gave him that look and leaned into him, pressing a sweet and sour flavored kiss to his lips. It said the opposite of what his words did.

“Only if I’m not welcome in your bed.”

Michael closed his eyes and welcomed another kiss, pushing away his worries.

“You’re always welcome. What else are friends for?”

**Author's Note:**

> also on my Tumblr: spaceskam


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